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In an effort to tackle the issue of living conditions for Minneapolis renters, a new city ordinance aims to address the growing issue of mold and mildew for renters, asserting that rental units should have “no signs of visible mold growth or chronic or persistent excessive dampness or moisture.”
Prior to the ordinance, which amends title 12, chapter 244 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, the city had no specific policy in place to address mold, says Bethany Turnwall, policy aide for the office of Jeremiah Ellison, who represents Ward 5 in Minneapolis. The term “water-damaged surfaces” was used as an indirect proxy, making it harder to track mold-related concerns. New guidelines—which were officially passed and signed by Mayor Jacob Frey in mid-June—aim to make tracking mold-related violations easier, providing supportive resources to property owners and renters and equipping city staff with better tools to identify and remove mold.
“All people deserve housing that is safe,” says LaTrisha Vetaw, a Ward 4 council member who co-authored the ordinance. “We know mold is a major health hazard. Among other things, mold can trigger asthma. Asthma disproportionately impacts children of color, and asthma has devastating impacts on families—hospitalizations, missed school, and missed work. This ordinance is something simple that the city can do to help try and break the asthma cycle by holding rental property owners accountable for the condition of their properties.”
“All people deserve housing that is safe. We know mold is a major health hazard. Among other things, mold can trigger asthma. Asthma disproportionately impacts children of color, and asthma has devastating impacts on families—hospitalizations, missed school, and missed work. This ordinance is something simple that the city can do to help try and break the asthma cycle by holding rental property owners accountable for the condition of their properties.” —LaTrisha Vetaw, a Ward 4 council member
Turnwall says addressing the mold issue is more than a rental issue; it’s a racial disparity issue. “By reducing the number of adults and children experiencing mold-related health issues in their homes, the city will reduce this preventable racial equity disparity and environmental justice issue in our community,” Turnwall says.
Home Line, a nonprofit tenancy advocacy organization in Minnesota, advised 19,600 tenant households last year, according to housing attorney Daniel Suitor. Twenty percent of repair calls to the organization involve mold, and 31 percent of the mold callers are Black, despite 18 percent of the Minneapolis population being Black.
Suitor clarifies that the ordinance will likely increase the number of calls that Home Line receives since city inspectors now have more enforcement authority over mold claims and complaints. “More city reports ordering mold remediation could mean more tenants who need help enforcing their rights,” Suitor says. But these calls mean more people are ensuring their homes—and occupants—remain healthy.
How to Find the Fungus
Mold—a type of fungus that grows off of damp and decaying materials both indoors and outdoors—grows easily, since it only requires a moderate climate, nutrients, and moisture, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Most health organizations agree that ideal indoor humidity levels should remain between 30 to 50 percent. In buildings with too much moisture, mold can wreak structural havoc as well as cause several long-lasting health problems.
“Depending on the exposure, mold can really alter someone’s life forever,” says holistic health expert Dr. Meaghan Kirschling of One Agora Health in Bloomington. “If you feel that you are exposed to mold, it is important to take it seriously and not only limit your exposure but to really treat it immediately.”
Mold can be cottony, velvety, granular, or leathery in texture, according to the MDH, and comes in a variety of hues (which includes white, gray, brown, black, and/or green), appearing like a slight discoloration or stain. Smelling a musty or earthy scent in an overly humid indoor environment (such as after a major leak) may be cause for concern.
“Anecdotally, I can tell you that it’s an extremely stressful situation for tenants to deal with,” Suitor says. “It can take [a] herculean effort just to get a landlord to pay attention to a mold complaint, much less investigate it or take meaningful, remediative action. Time and time again, almost to the word, I hear, ‘All they did is spray down the surface with bleach and tell me to run the bathroom fan.’”
Your Body on Mold
Symptoms of mold exposure can include a cough, shortness of breath, congestion, headaches, sinus disease, or frequent respiratory infections. Long-term exposure is associated with an increased risk of asthma, asthma attacks, runny nose, and respiratory infections. “It varies person to person,” says Dr. Andrew Stiehm, a pulmonologist at Allina Health. “Some persons will have prolonged exposures and have no symptoms. Others might develop issues with chronic asthma or allergies.”
“Mold is also notorious for being hard on the nervous system and can increase anxiety and symptoms related to the nervous system like dizziness, lightheadedness, and even changes in heartbeat and heart fluttering.” —Dr. Meaghan Kirschling, One Agora Health
“Mold is also notorious for being hard on the nervous system and can increase anxiety and symptoms related to the nervous system like dizziness, lightheadedness, and even changes in heartbeat and heart fluttering,” Dr. Kirschling adds.
The best way to address mold is to avoid it in the first place, which you can accomplish by controlling moisture, says Dr. Stiehm. “Fix water leaks, reduce indoor humidity,” he recommends. “Air conditioners and insulating pipes can all be helpful.”
MDH recommends the following tips to help avoid mold growth:
- When bathing or showering, use a bathroom fan.
- Don’t run your shower or boil water to humidify your home.
- While cooking, use a kitchen fan.
- Clean up spills right after they happen—especially on carpets.
- Don’t overuse humidifiers.
- Open your windows and encourage air circulation in your home to prevent condensation.
- Keep a few inches of space between furniture and your walls and be sure not to block supply and return registers with furniture.
- Fix leaks, sewage back-ups, and overflowing sinks/toilets/bathtubs as soon as possible.
If you suspect mold or mildew harvesting in your home, be sure to call your landlord immediately. This may be a sign of a leak that will need to be fixed. Under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 504B, landlords are responsible for keeping rental units “fit to live in,” “kept in reasonable repair,” and “kept in compliance with state and local health and safety laws,” according to the MDH. Essentially, your landlord is responsible for addressing the mold issue, especially if (or, when) it becomes a health risk.
“Don’t ever just treat mold with bleach,” Dr. Kirschling says. “This doesn’t get rid of it, and it can come back.”
There are some OTC mold-testing kits available via grocery stores or online retailers, but the MDH dissuades those who suspect mold in their homes from purchasing such kits. If you can smell, see, or feel mold, you most likely have a mold problem, and it’s best to spend that money treating the issue directly.
However, some lab companies—such as Vibrant America, Mosaic Diagnostics, and RealTime Laboratories—can check to see if you have high levels of mold in your body via a urine test, which Dr. Kirschling says can be helpful for assessing the impact of mold on your health. If you’ve been exposed to mold previously, your body will react more strongly in the future, she adds, which can create a fight-or-flight response from your brain’s limbic system.
“The number one [piece of] advice that I give people,” she says, “is that if you feel that you have symptoms that dramatically increase when you are home or at work, then listen to your body and make sure that you get checked out.”
